TheCable

Danjuma Barde, a first-class traditional ruler in Chikun LGA of Kaduna state, is dead.

The monarch was said to have died in the early hours of Wednesday.

He reportedly died at the Nigerian Army Referral Hospital Kaduna following an illness.

Peter Aboki, president of the Gbagyi development association (GDA), confirmed the death of the traditional ruler on Wednesday.

“Yes we lost our traditional ruler, he has been having some health challenges. He died in the early hours of today, at 44, Army hospital,” Aboki said.

The late traditional ruler was promoted to a first-class chief in 2018, after Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, changed the name of his chiefdom from “Gbagyi” to “Chikun”.

The governor also changed the title of the traditional ruler from “Sa Gbagyi” to “Etsu Chikun”, saying the changes were in accordance with the government’s policy that anchors the authority of traditional leaders on territory, not the tribe.

However, the name change did not go down well with the Gbagyi ethnic group who alleged that it was an attempt to distort their history and culture.

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, said the late traditional ruler was “a peacemaker who did not flinch from the challenges of modernity but who fully embraced the possibilities of diversity”.

In a condolence message signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, the governor said Barde promoted peace and embraced diversity which brought about development and modernity in his chiefdom.

The governor said his “accommodating and constructive attitude has brought immense socio-economic dividends to the people of Chikun Chiefdom which is host to many of the most significant investment projects the government has attracted to Kaduna state since 2015”.

He added that Barde was “courageous and outspoken, but always in the interest of peace, unity and progress”.